Electronic Arts is set for a crucial press presentation at Gamescom in Cologne and is streaming the affair live online as it goes for gold with Battlefield 3, Star Wars: The Old Republic, FIFA 12 and Mass Effect 3.

First up on the Gamescom stage and presented with an hour-long slot, EA will want to make a lasting impression on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 16.

The games industry giant is sure to push not only Battlefield 3 (with sights set on kingpin Call of Duty), but also its new Origin download store.

Other key titles for them will be FIFA 12, as domestic soccer seasons get underway, and Star Wars: The Old Republic.

The ambitious Star Wars MMO is quite vocal about its intention to muscle in on World of Warcraft's territory. Gamescom represents prime opportunity to nail down a 2011 release date once and for all.

Other titles likely to see stage time are arcade racer Need for Speed: The Run, snowboarding reboot SSX, and the secret revitalization of futuristic, cyberpunk action-strategy hybrid Syndicate.

Is it too much to hope for a follow up to the innovative free-running scramble Mirrors Edge 2?

Tourists are limp, leaderless and distinctly UnAustralian

Andrew Grice: Inside Westminster

Blairites be warned, this could be the moment Labour turns into Syriza

The mystery of Britain's worst naval disaster is finally solved - 271 years later

Exclusive: David Keys reveals the research that finally explains why HMS Victory went down with the loss of 1,100 lives

'I saw people so injured you couldn't tell if they were dead or alive'

Nagasaki survivors on why Japan must not abandon its post-war pacifism

The voter Obama tried hardest to keep onside

Outgoing The Daily Show host, Jon Stewart, became the voice of Democrats who felt the President had failed to deliver on his ‘Yes We Can’ slogan. Tim Walker charts the ups and downs of their 10-year relationship on screen